ObesityHelp

Well....some of the issues I mentioned in my intro are a thing of the past.  Some things are just....different.  

I had surgery in December of 2005.  My highest weight was 328.  My weight on the day of surgery was 291.  I was 5 feet, 4 inches tall.  I was HEFTY.  

Things went fairly well after surgery, in regards to my weight.  I lost weight quickly.  I became a clothes demon.  It was so amazing to be able to shop for "normal" sized clothes.  Things didn't go quite as smoothly with my marriage.  I think the surgery was that final straw.  We ended up splitting in 2006.  

Then I met Jeff.  Jeff also had surgery.  I met him through this board.  It was so different to have someone who knew EXACTLY what I had gone through.  Not just with my surgery, but with being fat and all the issues that go with that.  

In October of 2006, I ended up in the ER in Richmond, Virginia.  Turns out, I had an intestinal blockage.  They admitted me, they hydrated me...and the blockage passed.  They let me go, with a referral to a urologist.  See, when they did the CT scan to find the blockage, they also found a mass on my kidney.  

I pushed people away at that point.  I was certain that I was destined to die.  Here, I'd lived so much of my life as the bigger person, and now that I was small...it was almost certain that the mass on my kidney was cancerous.  

In November of 2006, I was scheduled to go to National Institute of Health, to be part of a study for the mass on my kidney.  My cousins had also had kidney cancer and had a gene that was being linked to renal carcinoma.  Monday, November 13, I was on my way to O'Hare.  And sicker than a dog.  My stomach hurt so bad.  Jeff took me to Alexian Medical Brothers in Elk Grove Village, IL.  He said they had the best team of bariatric surgeons.  I was again diagnosed with an intestinal blockage.  This time, I had to have surgery.  Turns out, I had a herniated intestine.  That was fixed, but a small hole in my intestine was missed.  I ended up with an infection.  All in all, I was in the hospital for 15 days (too the tune of $93,000).  I was released from the hospital with IV antibiotics....and some drains.  It was GROSS.  

Fast forward to January 2007.  I had my kidney out.  It turns out that instead of a 5 cm tumor, I had two tumors, one 3 cm and one that was 7 cm.  Cancerous, too.  The kidney was removed through an open nephrectomy, so as not to upset my intestines at all with a laprascopic adventure.  I had 8 lymph nodes and one adrenal gland removed as well, and tested.  NO CANCER in those.  I have to do periodic checkups, but all is looking good.  YAY.

Where am I at today?  I dropped down to 147 pounds at one point, after being sick.  But, wouldn't you know...I am back up to the exact spot that I was when I went into the hospital back in November.  I am at 177.  But things fit me differently now.  Or maybe it is hard for me to take that weight, cuz I went below and now I am back.  I just know that I see myself as huge again.  I am seeking a counselor to help me with this, and am trying to watch what I eat, and what I do, physically.  

Jeff and I got a dog.  His name is Harley.  We really love him.  Jeff is great.  We are living in Streamwood.  I am working downtown Chicago.  I don't have to travel.  Things are good.  Very good.

Do I regret the surgery?  Hell no.  Do I hate that I still don't like my looks after losing 151 pounds?  For sure.  But I am working on that.  

Take care, you's guys.  (Trying to take up that Chicago accent)